Man wrongly convicted 4 decades ago is set free Man...

Joseph Sledge, center, talks with his sister Barbara and brother Oscar during a break as a three-judge panel takes up his claim of innocence in Whiteville, N.C., on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. The panel planned to ... more

Joseph Sledge, center, talks with his sister Barbara and brother Oscar during a break as a three-judge panel takes up his claim of innocence in Whiteville, N.C., on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. The panel planned to consider whether Sledge was wrongfully convicted nearly four decades ago of killing a mother and daughter in North Carolina. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ethan Hyman) less

Photo: Ethan Hyman, MBO

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Joseph Sledge appears in court, in Whiteville, N.C., Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, as a three-judge panel convenes to take up his claim of innocence. The panel planned to consider whether Sledge was wrongfully ... more

Joseph Sledge appears in court, in Whiteville, N.C., Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, as a three-judge panel convenes to take up his claim of innocence. The panel planned to consider whether Sledge was wrongfully convicted nearly four decades ago of killing a mother and daughter in North Carolina. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ethan Hyman) less

Photo: Ethan Hyman, MBO

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Joseph Sledge arrives at the Dempsey B. Herring Court House Annex in Whiteville, N.C., Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, as a three-judge panel convenes to take up Sledgeâs claim of innocence. The judges were ... more

Joseph Sledge arrives at the Dempsey B. Herring Court House Annex in Whiteville, N.C., Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, as a three-judge panel convenes to take up Sledgeâs claim of innocence. The judges were appointed by the state Supreme Court after the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission found enough evidence of Sledge's innocence to recommend a judicial review. Sledge, 70, was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ethan Hyman) MANDATORY CREDIT less

Photo: Ethan Hyman, MBO

WHITEVILLE, N.C. - A 70-year-old man wrongly convicted of the 1976 stabbing deaths of a mother and daughter walked out of prison Friday, saying he was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed and maybe swimming in a pool.

After serving nearly four decades behind bars, Joseph Sledge was found innocent by a three-judge panel who heard testimony from a DNA expert. The expert said none of the evidence collected in the case - hair, DNA and fingerprints - belonged to Sledge. A key jailhouse informant also had recanted his story, saying authorities promised him leniency in his own case for his trial testimony against Sledge.

A district attorney who was not originally involved apologized to Sledge.

"The system has made a mistake," District Attorney Jon David said.

After the judges' decision was announced, Sledge was still for a moment, then hugged his lawyer and family members. Soon after, he walked out of the Columbus County Detention Center and got in a car with family members. They were headed to Savannah, Ga., where Sledge was set to live with one of his brothers.

Asked what he was looking forward to doing, he replied: "Going home. Relaxing. Sleeping in a real bed. Probably get in a pool of water and swim."

Sledge was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the September 1976 slayings of 74-year-old Josephine Davis and her 57-year-old daughter, Aileen. They were found stabbed to death in their home in Elizabethtown, a day after Sledge had escaped from a prison work farm.

Sledge is the eighth person exonerated after the state set up the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, the only state-run investigative agency of its kind.

The nonprofit Innocence Project said there have been 325 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the U.S.